5 ways to deal with a narcissist once and for all

5 ways to deal with a narcissist once and for all

A narcissist is a unique and challenging type of personality that can make you want to scream if you encounter one. Not only are narcissists profoundly obsessed with themselves, but they also can’t understand when others are not equally obsessed. Narcissists can be especially difficult to deal with if they are members of your family. It’s hard to confront someone who you are close with, but when it comes down to it, it’s either them or you, and believe us, you don’t want to have to deal with a narcissist any longer than you have to. So suck it up, speak your truth, and make a plan on how to deal with a narcissist with these helpful tips.

1) Know That it’s an Ongoing Battle

Here’s the thing about dealing with a narcissist: you are in the tough spot of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you don’t speak to the narcissist in your life, you continue to suffer their wrath; but if you do speak up, be ready to incur that wrath. Just understand that saying what you think is important to any relationship, so whether or not it causes problems between you, just know that it can’t be worse than it already is now.

2) Take Their Power Away

One of the hardest part about dealing with a narcissist is that they take a lot of your power away. They might not even mean to do it, but we allow people’s thoughts and opinions to take hold of us and it can cause us to limit ourselves because of it. If you want to know how to deal with a narcissist, don’t allow their words to have power over you.

3) Smile and Nod: How to Deal with a Narcissist Effectively

If your efforts to speak to the narcissist in your life have gone unattended, just resolve to let them say what they need to say – sometimes it’s like these people are going to explode if someone isn’t paying attention to them – and smile and nod. Don’t feed into their nonsense and don’t offer any advice or words of wisdom. If you haven’t been able to break through to them in previous attempts, it’s unlikely that you will be the one to make the breakthrough with them. Just keep smiling.

4) Don’t Take it Personally

Here’s the thing: narcissists are all about themselves. If they say or do something to you, it’s likely that they actually don’t mean to hurt you, but they mean to raise themselves up. So don’t take it personally if you are suddenly offended by what they say to you. Remember that many people who are narcissistic suffer from depression, poor self-esteem, and come from a string of attempts to gain control over their life without success. They project that failure on other people and they try to make it seem like they are doing better than everyone else. When you look close, you can see that these people are barely hanging on, so cut everyone some slack, including yourself, and just let it go. However, if you decide to speak up against the narcissist in your life, drawing attention to them when they offend you is probably the best way to get them to see that they are hurting real people in their lives.

5) Cut Them Loose

If you have tried to deal with a narcissist in your life and it hasn’t resulted in any relief for you, it might be time just to let them go. Sure, they’ll try like hell to stay in your life, but you can’t let them drag you down with them. They are a walking, talking, ball of sadness and bad attitude and you don’t need any of that in your life. While you might feel guilty for cutting ties with a narcissist at first, soon you’ll be feeling lighter and more free than you have in a long time. And, here’s the thing: they aren’t going to care. As long as someone – anyone – is paying attention to them at every turn, you won’t be missed. That’s just the reality of living with a narcissist in your life. So get them out of your life as soon as you can so you can get on with your life in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling like you’ve been in a tailspin having an argument with a brick wall for days. Save yourself the trouble. Walk away.

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